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To Beep or Not to Beep
To Beep or Not to Beep is a Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote cartoon from 1963. It's one of the few Chuck Jones-directed Road Runner cartoons to have a running theme/plot, namely a series of catapult gags. This was the only Chuck Jones' Road Runner cartoon not to either have latin names or products used from ACME. Summary Wile E. Coyote hopes to stop and catch the Road Runner using a huge, boulder-throwing catapult. But no matter where Wile E. positions himself, the catapult drops the boulder on him. Plot When he finds a picture of a baked Road Runner while skimming a book of "Western Cookery," Wile E. Coyote licks his chops. Determined to catch and eat the bird, the coyote tries to snare him in a noose. Instead, he falls backward off a cliff. He tries to leap forward, using a large, coiled spring attached to a boulder. The boulder becomes propelled, dragging Wile E. off a cliff. During a more-traditional chasing of the Road Runner, a few cactus plants are uprooted and dragged along toward a bridge. The bridge contracts, with all but the last cactus clearing. A few seconds later, the Coyote runs off the edge of the cliff. The cactus follows and catches him on his rear end, upon which he unleashes an agonized scream right back up to the top (his mouth completely filling the shot). The coyote tries a wrecking ball, but it rolls backward toward the control cab. Then, he tries a catapult, whose purpose is to hurl a boulder at the Road Runner. It manages to crush Wile E., no matter where he stands. On his last try, the catapult stalls, and the coyote cautiously creeps out from his manhole to unjam it. He gets tossed through the air, riding the boulder as it goes through a mountaintop before being bounced back, flattening the coyote like a pancake. It seems that the catapult was built by the "Road Runner Manufacturing Co." Notes Parts of the rope sequence and the catapult sequence were reused in the later Road Runner a Go-Go. This is the first Road Runner short that does not feature the standard taxonomy for its characters (and the only Chuck Jones short to do this). Reorchestrated Remake Ian Neumann aka LooneyTunerIan used audio bits from the half-hour special, The Adventures of Road Runner, in which Milt Franklyn conducted the music for. He also gave the latin names "Speedomitrus-Maximus" for the Road Runner and "Apetitius-Uncontrolibus" for Wile E. Coyote. With better credits and proper Music Credit going to Milt Franklyn, Ian Neumann made himself the Production Editor for the remake of "To Beep Or Not To Beep". Click here for the Milt Franklyn orchestrated version and audio remake of "To Beep or Not To Beep". Video Releases *''Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote: The Classic Chase'' *''Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3'' Videos Category:Road Runner Cartoons Category:Cartoons directed by Chuck Jones Category:1963 Category:Shorts Category:Wile E. Coyote Cartoons Category:Merrie Melodies Shorts Category:Cartoons directed by Maurice Noble Category:Cartoons written by Chuck Jones Category:Cartoons written by John Dunn Category:Cartoons animated by Ken Harris Category:The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie Cartoons Category:Cartoons with music by Bill Lava Category:Cartoons animated by Richard Thompson Category:Cartoons animated by Bob Bransford Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by Philip DeGuard Category:Cartoons produced by David H. DePatie Category:Cartoons with layouts by Maurice Noble